Served with some fresh roasted tomatoes, parsley from my garden, cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.

I highly recommend that you don’t skimp on buying high-quality pasta shells for this recipe. As always, if you dont use homemade pasta you should always go towards higher quality pasta. It will yield a better taste, texture, and cook better. Look for the pasta that is in clear bags and has a light pale yellow color with a brush of flour. The pasta that is bright yellow and looks plastic? Steer clear of that!

This recipe is…

easy

simple

healthy

fresh

100% vegan of course!

Pesto Stuffed Pasta Shells w/ White Sauce

By: Taavi Elizabeth Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

Pesto

1 cup packed fresh basil

1/4 cup packed spinach

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup raw cashews

3 cloves garlic

Juice of 1/2 lemon

3 artichoke hearts

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

White Sauce

1/2 block tofu

1/4 cup soaked cashews

1 heaping tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tbsp tapioca starch

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

3/4 cup almond milk

Juice of 1/2 lemon

10 oz. jumbo pasta shells (I used Lumaconi)

Fresh parsley

1 cup roasted tomatoes

Directions

Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook pasta shells according to directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Prepare pesto: In a food processor, blitz all ingredients together, except olive oil, until combined. While the food processor is still running, drizzle in olive oil slowly until mixture is creamy. Transfer pesto to a small bowl and set aside.

Prepare white sauce: In a high-speed blender, blend all sauce ingredients together until thick and creamy. Pour into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stirring frequently with a spatula, cook until sauce begins to thicken and stretches a bit when you pull the spatula away from the sauce. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Assemble: In the baking dish, spread a layer of white sauce on the bottom so the pasta can stick. Fill each pasta shell with a spoonful of pesto. One-by-one arrange shells as you like on the baking dish. Once all arranged, add a dollop of leftover white sauce into each pasta shell. At this point, if you want, you can add shredded vegan mozzarella cheese over top. Bake for 10 min until white sauce starts to brown. Broil on high for 2 min.